Everyone knows or has at least heard of the Puma brand, right? But did you know that they recently made their return to the basketball world with, among other things, the Puma basketball shoes. They have also managed to sign players such as Kyle Kuzma, DeAndre Ayton, Danny Green and DeMarcus Cousins.
Back again…
Around 1969, Puma decided that the Puma sneakers alone were not enough to become as big as they had in mind. They started thinking from that position, and that’s where the interest in the NBA began.
Walt Frazier had won an NBA title with the New York Knicks in 1970 and was on his way to the next one in 1973. Puma then decided to take a different path from the other companies and chose to work with one specific player. That player was Walt Frazier. Why Walt Frazier? Because at the time he was known as one of the most fashionable players in the NBA. Some time later, more and more NBA icons signed with Puma, such as Isaiah Thomas and Ralph Simson, and for a short period even Vince Carter was part of the Puma team.
Big Plans
Unfortunately, Puma did not manage to get the attention needed to compete with other big brands such as Converse and Nike basketball shoes during that period. Since 2018 they’re back! With bigger plans: they hired Jay-Z as Creative Director, signed a huge number of young, talented NBA players, and are paying more and more attention to the opinions and feedback of basketball players. For example, in the new basketball shoes they worked with a HYBRID system, which is a combination of Puma’s two best sports technologies to date. It is a mix of IGNITE and NRGY:
- IGNITE: PUMA's foam midsole plus branded heel cage supports and stabilizes by keeping the heel on the platform
- NRGY: PUMA's foam midsole offers superior cushioning from heel to toe, so you can keep running comfortably
The Future
Puma has been making extremely smart choices with positive results lately, and with the support of people such as Kylie Jenner, Rihanna, J.Cole, Jay-Z, Kyle Kuzma and rumors of deals with LaMelo Ball and Neymar Jr., Puma’s future keeps getting bigger. The only question is whether they can outdo their competitors at the basketball level. We at Burned are very curious about what’s still to come!
